Gatineau Park

Trails Skied: Fortune Pkwy, Champlain Pkwy, North Loop, #1, Glide Wax: purple, Grip Wax:

The NCC website reports no grooming since Friday morning, which appears accurate! The 2cm or so of fresh snow which fell last night has been packed down by heavy skate traffic on the parkways. Classic tracks are shallow. The connector between the Doldrums and Fortune Parkway has thin coverage and one partially open ditch, but is passable with good skis if you are careful. I didn't find any exposed rocks on Ridge between Huron and the top of Penguin, but some of the sharp corners (e.g. top of the Khyber Pass) are a bit icy. Ridge Road was like a bright white tunnel this morning with fresh snow sticking to the trees- very scenic. Despite the lack of grooming it's well worth getting out for a ski, and good skis can now be used on most popular trails with a bit of care. Parking could be a challenge- P8 was almost full at 9AM!













Gatineau park map


Gatineau Park is ski paradise! The network of ski trails offer machine groomed skate skiing and classic skiing as well as little groomed backcountry trails. Multiple access points allow skiers to access a variety of terrain and scenery. The NCC offers season or daily pay rates.

Gatineau park map

For suggestions on where to ski, excellent trail descriptions, photos and maps checkout Michael McGoldrick`s website about recreational xc-skiing in Canada`s National Capital Region (with an emphasis on the Gatineau Park).

Gatineau park map